5 Moves The Cleveland Indians Need To Make This Offseason
Promote Bradley Zimmer
Bradley Zimmer is a long shot to make the club out of Spring Training, but don’t tell him that.
Even though he just tasted Triple-A ball last season, Indians fans should be seeing him at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario sooner than later in 2017.
Zimmer should be an impact player at the MLB level judging by what scouts see.
After what fans saw out of Tyler Naquin’s rookie season, the Indians shouldn’t be afraid to promote the 22-year-old, either.
Zimmer is the future of the outfield. If he can help contribute, Chris Antonetti will have no choice but to promote him.
Ideally, you’d like Zimmer to have a good Spring Training.
Tyler Naquin’s production did fall off during the later part of the season. He hit just .193 in August. He rebounded to bat .279 while recording a .413 on-base percentage in September, but October saw him swoon.
For the postseason, Naquin slashed .174/.208/.261. Francona mostly employed his bat against righties.
Perhaps he was just a rookie hitting the wall.
Naquin deserves a chance to start in the outfield, and he’ll most certainly have a role with the 2017 club.
But this shouldn’t keep the team from doing what’s right with Zimmer.
“Come spring training, I want to win a job,” he summed up to Fanrag Sports. “I am going to go in there with a mindset that a spot is open, and I’m going to take it. I’ll build off what I’m doing here, go into spring training, and hopefully win a job in the big leagues.”